A.“At some point every
religion, especially one that purports to encompass a complete way of life and
system of government, has to be called to account for the kind of life it
offers the people in the lands where it predominates” (Inside Islam,
Miller & Kenedi, ed., “Women in Islam,” Geraldine Brooks).

B.There are at least three things that
influence the treatment of women in Islam.

1.The Qur’an and other sources of Islamic
teaching

2.The society in which the women live

3.The background and temperament of the man a
Muslim woman marries

C.There are passages in the
Qur’an that teach men to treat their women properly. “Consort with them in
kindness” (Sura 4:19).

D.Other teachings, however, often take
precedence over the teachings of the Qur’an concerning kindness toward women.
Let’s look at some of these.

I.MEN ARE, BY CREATION,
SUPERIOR TO WOMAN

A.Sura 4:34 – Men are superior to women on
account of the qualities with which God has gifted the one above the other, and
on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them…”

II.WOMEN ARE DEFICIENT IN
INTELLIGENCE, RELIGION, GRATITUDE TOWARD MEN AND LEGAL TESTIMONY

A.Razi commenting on Sura 4:11: “…Man is more
perfect than the women in creation, and intelligence, and in the religious
sphere, such as suitability to be a judge, and a leader in worship. Also, the
testimony of a man is twice that of a woman…”

B.Razi commenting on Sura 30:31: “…women are
not charged with many commands as we are charged, because the woman is weak,
silly, in one sense she is like a child, and no commands are laid upon a
child…”

C.Hadith: “Women are ungrateful to their husbands
and are ungrateful for the favors and good (charitable) deeds done to them.”

III.WOMAN ARE SOMETIMES DESCRIBED AS ANIMALS, TOYS,
AND LAND

A.Muhammad: “The women is a toy, whoever takes
her let him take care for her.”

B.“Eminent Muslim thinker Hadi Sabzevori…wrote:
‘That Sadr Ad-Deen Shirazi classifies women as animals is a delicate allusion
to the fact that women, due to the deficiency in their intelligence and
understanding of intricacies, [etc.,] are truly and justly among the brute
animals.”

C.Land: “Your women are a tilth (a field) for
you to cultivate so go to your tilth as you will” (Sura 2:223).

IV.WOMEN ARE A THING TO BE
ASHAMED OF

A.“The woman is ‘awrah. When she goes outside
(the house), the devil welcomes her” (Hadith).

1.“awrah, a thing that delights the devil

2.Women are even discouraged from going
outside, even to pray in the mosque.

B.When they do go out, they are to wear the
veil in order to protect the chastity of the men who might see her. (Sura
24:31)

V.THE WOMAN’S OBEDIENCE TO
HER HUSBAND IS HER KEY TO PARADISE

A.Hadith: “…Whosoever female dies while her
husband is pleased with her, will enter Paradise.” The prophet once said to a
woman: “Watch how you treat your husband for he is your Paradise and your
Hell.”

VI.FOR DISOBEDIENCE, MEN ARE
PERMITTED TO BEAT THEIR WIVES

A.Sura 4:34 – Men have authority over the women
because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend
their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient….As for those from whom
you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat
them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God
is high, Supreme.”

B.The conclusion of one major study states:

“In review of the actual teachings of the
Qur’an, Hadith, and Sira, Islam is rightly criticized….It will be shown from
the Qur’an, Sira, and other Islamic writings that this ‘Islamic’ wife beating
is physical and painful….You cannot separate the issue of wife beating apart
from the context of her inferior position in the marriage relationship”
(answering-islam.org, “Wife Beating in Islam”).

C.“The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
has determined that over 90 percent of Pakistani wives have been struck,
beaten, or abused sexually – for offences on the order of cooking an
unsatisfactory meal. Others were punished for failing to give birth to a male
child” (PIG, 70).

VII.IN EARTHLY LIFE MEN ARE PERMITTED MULTIPLE
WIVES, AND SEXUAL RIGHTS TO SLAVE GIRLS

A.Sura 4:3 – If ye fear that ye shall not be
able to deal justly with orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or
four, but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly [with multiple
wives], then only one, or [a captive] that your right hands possess…”

B.If a man purchases a slave girl, the purchase
contract includes his right to have sex with her….This contract is primarily to
own her and secondarily to enjoy her sexually (Fast Facts on Islam,
Ankerberg & Weldon, 59).

VIII.IN PARADISE, MEN WILL ENJOY SEX WITH PERFECT
WOMEN, BUT WOMEN ARE GIVEN NO ASSURANCE OF ONE MAN IN PARADISE

A.“A Hadith makes the number seventy-two.
Seventy females are specifically created, and two are human females. His
earthly wife may be included among his ‘huris’” (Fast Facts, 59).

B.Rafiqul-Haqq and Newton conclude: “The above
descriptions are literal, and the relationship between men and their ‘huris’
are physical, and not only spiritual…Once again the man has all the advantages
and pleasures, while the woman must be perpetually used for his purposes. His
is the pleasure – hers the disturbance, in this world and the next” (Fast
Facts, 59).

IX.IN MARRIAGE, THE WOMAN’S
STATUS LIES SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THAT OF A “FREE” WOMAN AND A SLAVE

A.Muslim scholar Ghazali: “The most satisfying
and final word on the matter is that marriage is a form of slavery (riq). The
woman is the man’s slave and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the
husband in all that he asks of her person” (Fast Facts, 60).

1.“Aisha, the most beloved of Muhammad’s many
wives, admonished women in no uncertain terms: ‘O womenfolk, if you knew the
rights that your husbands have over you, every one of you would wipe the dust
from her husband’s feet with her face” (PIG, pp. 67-68).

2.“For the first thirty years of my life, I
lived as a virtual slave. I was a bird in a cage; a second-class citizen who
had to watch what I said even to my close friends. Under Islamic law I had to
live in a gender-segregated environment and always be aware that the legal and
social penalty for ‘sin’ could end my life. This is what it is to live as a woman
under Sharia law” (Cruel and Unsual Punishment, Darwish, p. ix).

B.Hadith: “The most detestable of lawful
things near Allah is divorce.”

C.Hadith: A “man may say to his brother (in
Islam), ‘Have a look at either of my wives (and if you wish), I will divorce
her for you.’”

1.To carry out the divorce, all a man must do
is say: “I divorce you” three times.

2.Sharia places no restraints on a man’s
divorcing his wife or wives, and no reason is required.

3.A man can divorce all four of his wives and
start the cycle of marriage to four more women over again.

D.…once a Muslim woman has been thrice divorced
by the same husband, she must marry and divorce another man before going back
to him…” (Politically In-correct Guide to Islam, Spencer, 72).

E.Third party divorces are allowed, even if
both the man women desire marriage.

F.A woman can ask for a divorce, but the
husband must grant it. Or, she can go to the Sharia courts and pay money to
her husband, usually the dowry plus a good sum.

1.She receives a maximum of 3 months support.

2.She may lose her children.

XI.TEMPORARY MARRIAGES

A.This is a practice of shi’ite Islam.

B.“This allows a man to contract a temporary
marriage for a few months or even for a few days in order to satisfy his sexual
needs” (Islam vs. Christianity, Price, 111-112).

C.“One tradition of Muhammad stipulates that a
temporary marriage ‘should last for three nights, and if they like to continue,
they can do so, and if they want to separate, they can do so” (Politically
Incorrect Guide, 73).

XII.PROOF OF RAPE: FOUR WITNESSES

A.“And in cases of sexual misbehavior, four
male witnesses are required. These witnesses must be able to do more than
simply testify that an instance of fornication, adultery, or rape happened;
they must have seen the act itself” (PIG, 74).

B.This allows men to commit rape at will as
long as they deny the charge and there are no witnesses, because the victim’s
testimony is not admissible.

C.If the woman charges a man of rape and no
witnesses are found, her charge becomes an admission of adultery. NOTE: “…as
many as 75 percent of the imprisoned women in Pakistan are, in fact, behind
bars for the crime of being a victim of rape” (PIG, 76).

2.Removal of the entire clitoris (clitorectomy)
along with part of the labia minora, which is sutured together leaving an
opening

3.Removal of the entire clitoris, labia minora,
and medial part of the labia majora, which both sides of the female organ
stitiched together leaving an opening.

C.“…most authorities agree that female
circumcision is designed to diminish a woman’s sexual response, so that she
will be less likely to commit adultery” (PIG, 77).

XIV.HONOR KILLINGS

A.If a woman or daughter disgraces the home of
a Muslim, the man is allowed to kill the woman.

B.Under Islamic law I had to live in a
gender-segregated environment and always be aware that the legal and social
penalty for ‘sin’ could end my life” (Cruel and Unsual Punishment,
Darwish, p. ix).

CONCLUSION

A.There are several ways that we might group
the above items.

1.The rank of the woman

2.The woman in Muslim marriage

3.The use of the woman by the man

B.The question that women
need to ask is: “If Islam becomes the dominate religion in the United States
will we be better off?”

C.“As long as men read and
believe the Qur’an, women will be despised, second-class citizens, subject to
the heartbreak and dehumanization of polygamy, the threat of any easy and
capricious divorce, and worse – including beatings, false accusations, and the
loss of virtually all of the most basic human freedoms…They are the
consequences of regarding the Qur’an as the absolute, eternally valid, and
perfect word of Allah. As long as men continue to take the Qur’an at face
value, women will be at risk” (PIG, 77).